This invention is concerned with a ball holder, particularly a tennis ball holder adapted to hold one or two tennis balls.
In tennis, the server usually carries two or three balls to use for his particular service. If he serves and faults with the first ball he can immediately serve another. If he serves with a second ball and nets it he has the third ball to serve. If the first or second service is in play, the player has to carry one or two balls while playing which may interfere with his game, particularly if he uses both hands for some shots.
Some players place any unused balls in the pocket of their tennis shorts. However this may disturb concentration and the ability of the player to manuever on the court since the balls rub against the player's leg and hamper his motion.
Some players dispose of the second and/or third ball by dropping it or throwing it somewhere on the court after the first successful service. This may be distracting to his opponent and also presents the problem of retrieving one or two balls for the next service.
In view of the problems in dealing with extra balls after a successful service, there have been provided in the art, ball holders worn on the player's clothing which are capable of carrying one or two balls, the object of which is to keep the hands free for volleying after a successful service. Ball holders have also been used for golfers as a convenient alternative to reaching into a golf bag for a new ball.
In British Pat. No. 326,425 to Kachow et al, for example, a golf-ball holder or pouch is provided comprising a pair of substantially semi-spherical members hingedly connected together with the lower part of each member cut away to form an opening when the members are in the closed position, through which a part of the ball placed in the holder will protrude and means for attaching one of the members to a part of the clothing of the user.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,074,180 to F. J. Halley, a tennis ball holder capable of holding one tennis ball is provided comprising a pair of resiliently mounted rings made of a material such as spring wire, whose diameter is substantially less than that of a tennis ball. The rings are mounted to a base at one point in the circumference of each ring to resiliently resist separation. A tennis ball can be inserted in the space between the rings to enter the holder whereafter the rings close upon the ball and retain it.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,708,061 to J. Kotchka, provides a ball holder capable of retaining one or more balls in spaced relationship with respect to the holder whereby each of the balls is readily accessible to a player. The invention employs a curved base to which is secured a helically wound spring having a plurality of convolutions, the number of which is dependent upon the number of balls which the holder is adapted to retain. At each point along the length of the helical spring at which a ball is to be received, the successive convolutions of the helical spring are formed with a space therebetween sufficiently large to insure that a ball forced against said helical spring will automatically seat into the desired space between the successive convolutions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,709 to W. C. Kenard, a tennis ball holder is provided for elastically gripping a tennis ball which is capable of being secured to an article of clothing. Preferably, the holder is bent from wire in the form of a pair of loops for holding the ball and a pair of U-shaped portions for nipping or crimping an article of clothing, such as a belt or the like.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,290 to C. A. Sperling, a tennis ball holder is provided comprising a light weight concave plastic shell having a plurality of fingers which grip the ball to retain the ball within the shell. The holder is secured to the player's clothing by means of a plate and key/keyhole arrangement.
The present invention, on the other, hand provides a ball holder for holding one or two balls, particularly tennis balls, attachable to the attire of the player which can be loaded or unloaded rapidly without putting stress on the wearer's attire and securely retains a ball or balls even during the strenuous movements of the player such as serving, running and jumping.
The design of the present ball holder employs a novel combination of ball retaining members made of lightweight, solid and inexpensive plastic. The holder does not employ hingedly connected semi-spherical members, resiliently mounted spring wire, helically wound springs, wire loops or a concave plastic shell containing gripping fingers as described in the above patents. Moreover, in certain embodiments of the invention one of the members, besides functioning to retain balls in the holder, can also be used to assist in loading or unloading the holder without causing stress to the attire of the wearer. Such feature is not present in ball holders provided heretofore.